The Bleeding Edge of Change: Getting Control of Client Files
January 26, 2007
Lawyers are not necessarily known for being cutting-edge adopters of technology, particularly those in small- to medium-sized firms. In fact, it's more of a bleeding edge, as lawyers in all size firms are being painfully thrust into using sophisticated technology solutions to manage cases along with all the attendant print and electronic records. A comprehensive and reliable enterprise-wide electronic records management system is critical for tracking, storing and retrieving client files to reduce ethical, malpractice and compliance risks for law firms.
e-Discovery Case Law: The Cost of Poor Practices
January 26, 2007
For years, consulting firms that provide services during technology migrations have touted the ability to protect corporations from the risks of not upgrading their systems. In the late 1990s, these warnings focused on bugs that could be initiated in 2000 with the date change (remember the Y2K bug?).<br>Today, discovery and computer-forensics consultants are similar to those consultants of a decade ago in that they try to warn clients about the need to correctly preserve information, and respond to litigation and regulatory requests conscientiously. Years of warnings and millions of dollars in court-imposed sanctions later, corporations are seriously considering how to mitigate poor data-discovery project-management risks, missing electronically stored information and lost evidence.
Do Web Sites Need To Be Accessible To the Blind?
January 26, 2007
An advocacy group has sued Target Corp., claiming that Target's Web site is incompatible with software used by the blind and that such incompatibility is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Superior Legal Web Sites to Watch
January 26, 2007
We delve into our browser's bookmarks this month, to review the recently launched Web sites of interest to individuals in the legal profession.
International Internet Law
January 26, 2007
As worldwide Internet use grows, international Internet legal difficulties increase. Resolution is commonly obtained through traditional international treaties, conventions and jurisdictions. However, some critical matters concerning international use and regulation of the Internet remain unsettled.
Blogging Do's and Don'ts
January 26, 2007
With the rush to create content, it's easy to forget that all business communications directed to the public are subject to a variety of laws, regulations and other legal concerns. This article provides a high-level overview of the key points to keep in mind as you assess whether your company-related blog is legally compliant.
Right of 'Informational Privacy' Upheld In NJ
January 26, 2007
In a case of first impression under New Jersey law, an appeals court has held that Internet subscribers have a reasonable expectation of privacy, allowing a challenge to a subpoena that led to an indictment for computer-related theft.
Right of 'Informational Privacy' Upheld In NJ
January 26, 2007
In a case of first impression under New Jersey law, an appeals court has held that Internet subscribers have a reasonable expectation of privacy, allowing a challenge to a subpoena that led to an indictment for computer-related theft.
Protecting Trade Dress in Once-Patented Subject Matter
December 29, 2006
The recent decision, <i>Fuji Kogyo Co. v. Pacific Bay Int'l, Inc.</i>, 461 F.3d 675 (6th Cir. 2006), confronts the question deliberately left unresolved in <i>TrafFix Devices, Inc. v. Marketing Displays, Inc.</i>, 532 U.S. 23 (2001), of whether a product design claimed in a prior utility patent can ever be protectable trade dress under the Lanham Act. Although setting a high bar to protectability, indeed a 'presumption' and 'heavy burden' that material claimed in a utility patent is functional and hence unprotectable once the patent term ends, the Supreme Court, of course, expressly elected not to foreclose such protection entirely. Thus, it refused the invitation of defendant TrafFix, and 'some of its amici,' to rule that 'the Patent Clause of the Constitution, Art. I '8, cl. 8, of its own force, prohibits the holder of an expired utility patent from claiming trade dress protection.' 532 U.S. at 35. Without itself addressing the constitutional question of how narrowly 'limited times' means 'limited times,' <i>Fuji Kogyo</i> does nothing to ease the burden in establishing trade dress protection for once-patented subject matter; it offers as well a new (if, perhaps, less than fully developed) analytical approach for applying the <i>TrafFix</i> presumption, asking whether the claimed trade dress would have infringed the expired patents.
Cape Town: Rail Just Around the Bend, Satellites Just over the Horizon
December 28, 2006
For the last nine months, participants in the aircraft leasing and finance industry have been dealing with the newly formed international registry for the registration of interests in aircraft and the changes in substantive law governing aircraft sale, lease, and finance transactions brought about by the ratification of the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and the related Aircraft Protocol. The Convention and Aircraft Protocol were developed and are being promoted by'
